Wire-feeding means for fastening inserting machines



Ma 'zs, 1945. H. LANE ETAL 2,376,924

WIRE FEEDING MEANS FOR FASTENING INSER'I'ING MACHINES Original Filed July 18, 1942 Patented May 29, 1945 WIRE-FEEDING MEANS FOR. FASTENING INSERTING MACHINES Harold Lane and William Arthur Barton,

I Leicester, England, assignors to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Original application ,July 18,; 1942, Serial No.

451,446. Divided and this application August 498,544. -I n Great Britain 13, 1943, Serial No. June 7, 1940 3 Claims.

This invention relates to fastening-inserting machines and is herein illustrated as applied to a machine of the type disclosed in Letters Patent of the United States, No. 2,358,862, granted September 26, 1944, on an application filed in our names, of which this app t is di s at.

Machines of the type referred to are each provided with mean for forming a fastening, for example, a staple from a continuous strand of wire. After the fastening ha been formed,it is driven into the work by fastening-inserting means provided in the machine. The staple wire is usually wound up on a reelrotatably mounted on the machine frame and wire feeding mechanism is providedwhich, prior to the forming of a fastening, serves to feed a length of wire into' the fastening-forming means where the length of wire is severed from the supply and formed into a fastening. By reason of the winding of. the wire on the reel, it. has a tendency when being drawn from the reel and presented to the fastening-forming means to curve in one direction'and thus to make accurate measuring of the length of wire difficult.

.In order to insure accurate measuring of a length of staple wire fed into the fastening-forming means in spite of the afore-mentioned tendency to curve in one direction, the invention provides means associated with the fastening-forming means and arranged to receive the leading end of the wire and to guide it in a substantially straight path during the wire feeding operation. As illustrated, the fastening-forming means is provided with an outside staple former with which is associated a wire receiving springpressed member or plunger, The plunger, after having received the leading end of the wire, is moved as a result of the feed movement imparted to the wire against the pressure of its spring until its movement is terminated by an adjustable stop. Thus the length of wire fed into the fastening-forming means is guided in a rectilinear path and at the same time, the length of wire to be fed in is accurately determined. Fasten ings of predetermined length are formed in accordance with the thickness of the work into which a particular fastening is to be inserted.

The above and other features of the invention will now be more particularly described by reference to the accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in the claims.

In thedrawing,

Fig. 1 is a view in left-hand side elevation of a portion ofthe head of a machine in which the invention is embodied, showing the parts in the positions they assume substantially at the end of the staple driving operation;

Fig. 2 is in part a section on the line 11-11 in Fig. 1 and in addition, illustrates the wire feeding mechanism; and

Fig. 3 is a section on the line IIIIII in Fig. 2.

Theiinvention, is illustrated as embodied in a machine of the type disclosed in the above-men? tioned patent and, accordingly, only such features of the general organization as it is necessary to refer to for an understanding of the invention will be describedherein in detail. It will be understood that a machine of this typeis provided with a side gage l0 (Fig. l), a sole rest (not shown) serving to position the shoe, shoe upper tensioning mechanism, and fastening-inserting means such as a staple driving mechanism l3 cooperating with a deflector l4 carried on the forward end of a slide l2, the'slide being mounted in the machine head for forward movement toward the operator in a downwardly inclined path, the slide also carrying the staple driving mechanism.

progressively to tension unlasted portions of the upper over the last and insole along the'edge of the bottom of the hands, In time relation to each pulling of the upper, mechanism to fasten the tensioned marginal portion of the upper to the insole. As the stapleis driven, its legs are engaged by the deflector Hi, the deflector acting to curve successive portions of the leg before they enter the workto cause the legs to follow curved paths and. to become effectively anchored in the insole. Moreover, in time relation to each upper pulling operation, the slide I2 is moved forwardly to carry the lower end of the staple driving mechanism, usually referred to as a staple guiding nozzle 15 (Fig. l),

and other parts associated therewith, inwardly over the shoe bottom to lay the marginal portion of the upper over the insole, whereupon the sta-'- tracted to its starting position.

In the machine of the above-mentioned patent,

The upper tensioning mechanism is arranged shoe, held in the operators a staple is driven by the staple driving ple is driven and thereafter the slide I2 is re- 1 the machine" disclosedin the" above-mentioned patent, a wire'guiding nozzle I (Fig. 2) which,

.38 of the block 22, the portion 44 acting as an' together with a so-called insidestaple former l8j is secured to the slide l2 by :aiscitew l9 (Figs; l;

and 2) and, therefore, both members I16 and";

participate in the forward movement of the. slide to form a staple. .The wire guiding nozzle {6 serves to present an extent of wire, fed through%' the nozzle by mechanism disclosed in the above- 36 is moved back or inwardly by the wire against mentioned patent, to a substantially U-shapBdi outside former 20 secured to a block 22, together with a wire severing 'kni fefi zlg"th"bfo k it elfi i being secured to the machine frame so that the movement of the members 16 and I8 takes place relatively to the outside former 20.

v The .wire feeding mechanism. is illustrated in Fig. 2 and comprises" principally two-reed rolls. 26

and 28 between which thelwirewfifing mm the reel (not shown) is gripped; Thei'eed' roll 26- is:

(ndtslio'wn). "I he wire, after leaving the feed mechanism, is'gui'ded'in a fiexibl'e tube 32- which is'in communication with a'wir'e guiding passage 3 34 provided in the nozzlejflir As; inprevious machines of this type; the operation "of the wire feeding mechanism is intermittent, the' inecharotatedby a pawl and ratchet mechanismthrough .-a linkjgfl operated by a bell crank'lever' and cam nism being. operated to ,f e eda length of wire through. tlie nozzle tfigandzinte the-1 fasteningforming mechanism (outside former 20') immediat'e'ly prior to the'op'erati'onfof the fastening forming mechanism"; friie'wirereeding o era 5 tion oi'the nozzle' flt," to present an extent of 1 pressed plunger 36 (Fig. 3]) slidably mounted in center "or the end face of the plunger 36" adjacent to the outside former 2'0 isffor'ineda-small recess into which the endci the wi're is fed. The inner e'nd'of the spring Y wire to the outside'iormer 2'0, is 'termi'n'atedby an adjustablestop'; For-the purpose of the present i invention; the stop isin the form of a springa bore 3'8 provided'ih {the blockiit,v the longitu' dinal' axis'of the plunger being in'aiignm'ent with I thefloutletend'of the nozzle Hi'wh'en the; end of I the wire is fedf'throu'ghthe nozzle (Fig. 3): One

endofjthe pl'unger 36 is hel'dfby a coil spring 40 located in the bore 38in the block 22' against the i outside "forniei'fi'zfl "provided withwire guiding j, siotsi? :throu'glri whichthe wire isfed. In the 1 411 is mounted on the reduced 1 portion '4f4"oi a eerew ae-tnreaaea into the bore 1 lengthof wire is measured.

adjustable stop for the plunger 36 when the latter is moved inwardly as a result of the feeding of the wire; The spring 40 is relatively light and, when. the wire" is being fed through the slots 42 to be fed, the plunger 36 is pushed back' until it y engages the stop 44, the latter, therefore, determining the length of wire fed in. As the plunger "the pressure of the light spring 40, the engagement of the wire end with the recess in the plunger 36 causes the wire to-be moved in a straight path, with the result that the correct Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is: p

1. In a fastening-inserting machine having an inside staple former, an outside former and a nozzle for guiding a lengthof wire to the outside former, in which the inside former and the nozzle; are movable as a unit relati-vel-y'to the outside former, the provision otmeans for length of wireto-theoutside former and a main ber arranged toreceive the leading end of the wire and to movewith it during the wire feeding opera ati-onto guide" the linear path. I

2 In a fastening inserting machine having an inside staple: former. an outsi'de'former anda nozzle: for guiding a length of wire to the outside, former; in which the inside former and the nozzle, are movable as a unitrelatively to the outside inside staple former, an outside former and a nozzle for guiding a length of wire to the outside former; which the inside former and the nozzle are movable as a unit relatively to theoutside former," the provision of aispring -prssed' member associated the-outside formerfor receiving the: leading end of the wire while the latter isbeing fed and 'for guiding *itin a substantially" rectilinear path,-and a stop for limiting themo've' member.

merit of said. v

feeding a wire in a substantially re'cti- AR HUR m me; a 

